Department of Community Medicine & School of Public Health
Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh
स्नातकोत्तर चिकित्सा शिक्षा एवं अनुसंधान संस्थान, चंडीगढ़

The Department of Community Medicine was established in 1977 in PGIMER, Chandigarh with the aims to evolve a feasible pattern of comprehensive health care delivery for the rural population, to provide public health orientation to resident doctors of the institute and to train resident doctors as public health specialists. The department of Community Medicine has also established a model health care programme in rural and urban communities which provides hands on training to resident doctors of Community Medicine and a number of research projects have been conducted. The postgraduate degree course for MD (Community Medicine) was started in 1996 in which two candidates are enrolled per year. To address the emerging challenges in Public Health Education and Research, Community Medicine Department of PGIMER, Chandigarh established in 1977 was upgraded to the Department of Community Medicine and School of Public Health in 2004. To effectively meet the public health needs of the country, a two year course in Master of Public Health (MPH) was started in 2007 in which 15 candidates (increased to 19 in 2010-11 and now 25) are enrolled every year.

Health Economics is a key sub-specialty within the Department of Community Medicine and Public Health. Our faculty is dedicated to building the capacity of healthcare professionals while conducting high-impact, policy-relevant economic analyses for healthcare programs and policies. As part of our capacity-building efforts, we offer two dedicated units: Health Economics and Health Policy, specifically designed for Master of Public Health (MPH) students. Numerous HTA studies have been conducted in India, focusing on various aspects such as:

• Medical Devices: Evaluations of intraocular lenses for age-related cataracts and safety-engineered syringes for therapeutic use.


• Pharmaceuticals: Analyses of drugs like Ribociclib and Palbociclib for metastatic breast cancer, and Bevacizumab for metastatic cervical cancer.


• Diagnostics: Studies on pulse oximetry's role in preventing childhood pneumonia.


• National Health Programs: Assessing interventions and their implications for national health initiatives.

Prof. Shankar Prinja is a public health professional and health economist who has more than 18 years of experience of working in academics, research, development sector and senior Government positions. His research work has resulted in very significant development of methods in the field of research on economic evaluation of health care programs, as well as translation to Government of India’s and State Government’s flagship programs, including the Ayushman Bharat.

He is a recipient of the prestigious Prof. M.K. Seshadri Award (2021) and Prof. B.C. Srivastava Foundation Award (2018) for his contribution to the field of public health research. He is also the recipient of the been awarded the Vijay Narain Award, and the Kalu Ram Memorial Award by the Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine (IAPSM).

As per a recent bibliographic research study, Prof. Shankar Prinja has been featured in the list of the top 2% scientists globally in the field of public health research, as well as in the top 20 global researchers working in the field of universal health coverage, respectively. With an h-index and i-10 index of 38 and 121, respectively He has more than 300 research papers published in peer reviewed International and National journals, including Lancet Public Health, Lancet Global Health and the Lancet Regional Health – South East Asia region, and the journals of British Medical Journal group.

He has contributed significantly to development of the field of Health Technology Assessment in India (HTAIn), as well as the SEAR region. He has been instrumental in the development of several Indian methodological guidelines for conduct of economic evaluations, budget impact analysis, national health accounts, and the process and quality appraisal guidelines for HTA studies. His research has also led to several noteworthy policy translations at the national and state level, besides the development of products such as the National Health System Cost Database. During 2022-23, Prof. Shankar Prinja served as the Executive Director of the National Health Authority, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, where he led the design of several important policies for Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, including the major revision of its health benefit package and pricing, and introducing several important policy reforms for provider payments and value-based care.